Joe Knollenberg, former Michigan GOP congressman, dies at 84

FILE- In a Nov. 4, 2008 file photo, then-U.S. Rep. Joe Knollenberg, R-Mich., talks to the media after voting in his precinct in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. Knollenberg, who served suburban Detroit’s Oakland County for 16 years, has died. He was 84. State Sen. Marty Knollenberg said his father died Tuesday, Feb. 6, of complications from Alzheimer’s disease. He died at a memory care facility in Troy, where had lived for 2 and a half years. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio_File)

DETROIT (AP) — Former U.S. Rep. Joe Knollenberg, a Republican who served Oakland County for 16 years, has died. He was 84.

Michigan State Sen. Marty Knollenberg says his father died Tuesday of complications from Alzheimer’s disease. He died at a memory care facility in Troy, where he lived for 2-and-a-half years.

“Congressman Knollenberg exemplified what we should expect from our elected leaders,” said longtime Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson. “He was accessible and responsive in Washington, D.C. every time we had an issue. He was a real friend of Oakland County who represented his constituents well. He will be sorely missed.”

Knollenberg was born in 1933 in Mattoon, Illinois, where he grew up on a farm. After getting a bachelor’s degree and serving in the Army, he started working in insurance and transferred to Michigan.

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Knollenberg was elected to Congress in 1992 — his first elected office. He had been chairman of the Oakland County Republican Party, a district chairman and president of a local GOP club.

“I was saddened to hear of the passing of a close friend and mentor, former Congressman Joe Knollenberg,” said U.S. Rep. Mike Bishop, the Republican from Rochester. “Joe epitomized what it means to be a true public servant. His honorable service in the U.S. Army and his legacy of community service will forever serve as an example for us.”

Democrat Gary Peters, now a U.S. senator, beat Knollenberg in November 2008.

Knollenberg’s son, Marty, is now a state senator, representing the 13th District, which includes his home city of Troy.

“Throughout his sixteen years of service in Congress, Joe worked tirelessly to represent the people of Southeast Michigan,” Peters said in a statement. “He cared deeply about his country and his state, and he remained active in his community even after his service in Congress ended. Joe was a true statesman and a well-respected gentleman — exactly the kind of person you want to see in public service.

“My thoughts are with his family and friends, and I hope they can take a small measure of comfort in knowing that his legacy of dedication and public service to the people of Michigan will live on.”